Princess Project dress drive ends Saturday

The Princess Project offers free party dresses and accessories to thousands of high school prom-goers in need.

Donate at locations around the Bay Area by Saturday, and that perfectly lovely party dress you’ll never wear again could make a high school girl’s prom night possible, thanks to the Princess Project, an annual dress drive matching girls in need with dresses and accessories they can don on their big night.

Now in its 11th year, the nonprofit organization has gifted dresses to more than 18,000 high school girls who would not otherwise have been able to purchase a prom dress and expanded its giving locations beyond the Bay Area to San Diego. Some 4,000 recipients will receive free dresses, gowns, evening accessories and costume jewelry when the Princess Project holds its giveaway days later this month.

San Francisco retailers and businesses have been collecting donations since mid-February to support the 2012 drive, which draws to a close on Saturday, March 3. Around town, there are drop-off locations downtown, as well as in Pacific Heights, Inner Sunset, the Mission, Russian Hill, the Marina and Presidio Heights at Beauty Company, Marc by Marc Jacobs, the Jewish Community Center, FIDM, Bar Method and Therapy, among others.

Dress must be formal and in good condition, contemporary in style and delivered dry-cleaned and on hangers. For information about how you or someone you know can receive a dress this year, visit the Princess Project Get A Dress page.

High school girls in need may choose one dress and one accessory of their choice during Princess Project Dress Giveaways, offered on a first-come, first-served basis each year.

Costume jewelry and accessories are also part of this year's giveaways.